City report · Nakuru County, Kenya
Naivasha Air quality today
Air quality in Naivasha currently reads AQI 71 (Moderate): Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Air quality right now
AQI 71
Moderate
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 24.5
- tree cover
- 21.8%
- trees in this area
- 67.3K
- more trees needed
- 25.3K
Measured across a 2 km radius around Naivasha, Kenya (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Sep 24, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Naivasha · AQI 71 (Moderate)
Naivasha's tree count comes to 67,254 trees across 12.34 km² of land, 8 points below the 30% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area, so roughly 25,297 more trees would close the gap.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Naivasha today: AQI 71, Moderate
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 10, 19:00 local time via Open-Meteo / CAMS, corrected with 3 ground-station cities within 65 km, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Estimate · model corrected with 3 station cities within 65 km, e.g. Limuru Town. and Banana Hill
Health signal
Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
PM2.5
24.5
PM10
6.9
NO₂
5.0
O₃
52.0
SO₂
0.9
CO
244.0
- Outdoor exercise
- Fine for most people; unusually sensitive people should take long or hard exercise easier
- Windows
- Fine to open; close them if you are sensitive to pollution
- Mask
- Not needed for most people
- Air purifier
- Worth running if you are sensitive
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Naivasha's daily AQI at 41 on average, from 30 on Nov 6 to an hourly peak of 63 on Nov 5.
Where Naivasha stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Naivasha: Below target
21.8% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 12.34 km² of land.
Trees in this area
67,254
Target trees
92,551
More trees needed
25,297
CO₂ if planted / yr
556.5 t
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Naivasha lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Naivasha has lost about 521 hectares of forest (about 730 football pitches): 19% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (61%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for farms, pasture and plantations.
2017: satellite photo from March 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 7 km west of the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 521 haabout 730 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 19%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 319 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
The worst year was 2022, when about 80 hectares of forest were lost.
Hectares of forest lost each year
Show the figures as a table
| Year | Cleared for good | Can grow back | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 19 ha | 40 ha | 59 ha |
| 2002 | 1 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2003 | 6 ha | 3 ha | 9 ha |
| 2004 | 2 ha | 24 ha | 26 ha |
| 2005 | 6 ha | 8 ha | 13 ha |
| 2006 | 2 ha | 27 ha | 29 ha |
| 2007 | 53 ha | 5 ha | 58 ha |
| 2008 | 8 ha | 7 ha | 15 ha |
| 2009 | 7 ha | 10 ha | 18 ha |
| 2010 | 12 ha | 4 ha | 17 ha |
| 2011 | 22 ha | 5 ha | 27 ha |
| 2012 | 14 ha | 16 ha | 30 ha |
| 2013 | 8 ha | under 1 ha | 8 ha |
| 2014 | 14 ha | under 1 ha | 14 ha |
| 2015 | 2 ha | 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2016 | 9 ha | under 1 ha | 10 ha |
| 2017 | 4 ha | under 1 ha | 4 ha |
| 2018 | 11 ha | 1 ha | 12 ha |
| 2019 | 8 ha | under 1 ha | 8 ha |
| 2020 | 27 ha | 11 ha | 38 ha |
| 2021 | 4 ha | 1 ha | 6 ha |
| 2022 | 56 ha | 24 ha | 80 ha |
| 2023 | 8 ha | 10 ha | 18 ha |
| 2024 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | 1 ha |
| 2025 | 16 ha | under 1 ha | 17 ha |
What is causing deforestation around Naivasha?
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good60% · 311 ha
- Storms, floods and other natural causescan grow back30% · 154 ha
- Loggingcan grow back8.1% · 42 ha
Also: towns and roads, unknown causes.
Causes for 2025 are estimates, based on what caused forest loss in the same places up to 2024.
Forest gained and lost, 2000–2020
- Forest in 2000
- 3,440 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 2,910 ha
- Overall change
- −531 haless forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Naivasha shrank from about 3,440 hectares to 2,910 hectares, a net loss of about 531 hectares (−15%). New forest grew on about 284 hectares, but 815 hectares were lost.
These 2000 and 2020 maps, from the University of Maryland, count any land with trees taller than 5 m as forest, including plantations and orchards. Forest that was cut or burned and had grown back by 2020 counts in both years, so the loss here is smaller than the yearly figures.
These figures cover everything within 10 km of the city center, a wider area than the report above, because forest is usually lost at a city's edges.
Source: Hansen/UMD/Google/USGS/NASA, Global Forest Change (GFC-2025-v1.13); causes: WRI/Google DeepMind drivers of forest loss; both CC BY 4.0, summed by Airleaf for each area. Forest gained and lost 2000–2020: Potapov et al. 2022, UMD GLAD Global Land Cover and Land Use Change, CC BY 4.0. Images: contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data. How it's measured
In the same region
Measured cities near Naivasha
Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.
Build your own
Compare Naivasha with anywhere
This place
Naivasha
Use this data
Put Naivasha's numbers on your site
Free to embed. Updates itself as the measurement refreshes.
Frequently asked
Questions about Naivasha
What is the air quality (AQI) in Naivasha right now?
The latest reading for Naivasha shows an AQI of 71 (Moderate), observed Nov 10, 19:00 local time via Open-Meteo / CAMS, corrected with 3 ground-station cities within 65 km, US EPA index. The main pollutant is PM2.5. Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Is it safe to exercise outside in Naivasha today?
At AQI 71 (Moderate): fine for most people; unusually sensitive people should take long or hard exercise easier. Windows: fine to open; close them if you are sensitive to pollution. Masks: not needed for most people. The reading changes through the day, so check again before a long run or ride.
What has the air quality in Naivasha been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Naivasha's daily AQI at 41 on average, from 30 on Nov 6 to an hourly peak of 63 on Nov 5. No day averaged above 100, the level where the air turns unhealthy for sensitive groups.
How much forest has the area around Naivasha lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Naivasha has lost about 521 hectares of forest (about 730 football pitches): 19% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (61%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for farms, pasture and plantations. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Naivasha shrank from about 3,440 hectares to 2,910 hectares, a net loss of about 531 hectares (−15%). New forest grew on about 284 hectares, but 815 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Naivasha?
Naivasha has an estimated 67,254 trees across the 12.34 km² of land measured — 21.8% tree cover, 8 percentage points short of the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Naivasha need?
Naivasha needs roughly 25,297 more trees to close a 8-point shortfall against its 30% tree-cover target — about 556.5 t of extra CO₂ absorbed per year once grown.
How are Naivasha's air quality and tree cover measured?
Air quality comes from ground monitoring stations via OpenAQ where one reports nearby, and otherwise, as here, from the Open-Meteo / CAMS model, which may differ from street-level monitors. Tree cover is measured from Sentinel-2 L2A (ESA Copernicus) via Earth Search satellite imagery at 10 m detail across a 2 km radius around Naivasha; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
See your own area
What does your neighborhood look like?
Pick any point and radius to get the same air-quality and tree-cover breakdown.
Check my address